Egypt Roiling: Deaths At Protests; Two Americans Reportedly Kidnapped

In Cairo earlier today, a masked Egyptian protester prepared to throw back a tear gas canister fired by security forces.

Mahmud HamsAFP/Getty Images

Originally published on February 3, 2012 7:23 am

The news from Egypt is grim again today:

-- "At least two people have been shot and killed in the Egyptian city of Suez, as police used live rounds to hold back crowds during a protest over security forces' failure to prevent a deadly football riot," al-Jazeera reports. And it adds that "one person was killed in Cairo just feet away from the Interior Ministry, as police in Cairo set off salvos of tear gas and fired birdshot."

Reuters says a police officer has also reportedly been killed in Cairo.

The protests stem from authorities' failure to control the crowd after a soccer game Wednesday in Port Said. A riot erupted, leaving around 80 people dead and about 1,000 injured. Many Egyptians are angry about a lack of security in their country.

-- The Guardian writes that "gunmen in Egypt's Sinai peninsula have kidnapped two American women in an apparent attempt to hold them for ransom, security sources said. Security in the isolated desert region has deteriorated since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak last February. South Sinai's Red Sea coast is a major tourism hub for Egypt."